kris@krisledonne.com
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About Kris LeDonne

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So far Kris LeDonne has created 39 blog entries.

Lost & Found

Finding Treasure My maternal grandmother is my earliest recollection of the impact of combining words and photos. I was so blessed by her “pen pal” style letters that periodically landed in my college mailbox. They always included a couple of photos from our last visit, or the latest treasures that bloomed in her garden. Whenever I saw my name written in her handwriting, waiting to be discovered in my mailbox, my heart would flutter with excitement. My Mama Dede was such a fun loving role model in my life. She had a laugh that would make anyone smile or join in- whether you were in on the joke, or not. Reminiscing brings it all back again… so much love. I am so blessed.  Partners in Crime Not only a master gardener, Mama Dede (known as Edith to her peers) was president of her gardening club in the town of Elizabeth City, NC.  She would design, organize, decorate and make the town bloom with her [...]

By |2023-05-24T16:45:19+00:00May 24, 2023|connection, declutter, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, preservation|
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Loud & Proud

Note to the reader: The content in this post is deeply personal. If you are part of my story- YOU didn't hurt me; I love you. How this music teacher finally learned to sing Thank you for being here as I "think out loud" - My  hope is that we can resonate on a subject of growth and healing.  I grew up as the first born of two kids, eager to make the world happy.  I tried to be a good daughter, a good student, a team player, and a good friend because I was afraid of making others angry or disappointed in me.  But one thing I never tried to be good at as a child… was just being ME.  I didn’t know what that meant.  As far as I knew, following the rules meant there were fewer threats. I thought “being good” is the way to make other people happy  Everything I knew revolved around rules; Written and unwritten rules. The 10 [...]

By |2023-04-05T16:46:25+00:00March 28, 2023|finding help, managing photos, mindset, personal growth, Uncategorized|
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The Worst Thing Ever

When we struggle When things that happen (or don't) in life and we look at our role in the unwanted outcome, stress & overwhelm take over. Assigning blame doesn't help; It just makes the pain increase. We lose sight of the actual facts of any situation when we are drowning in all of the negative emotions that cloud our judgment. It’s as if our FEELINGS become the negative story tellers. Is that really an objective, helpful, constructive voice?  Are you living your worst case scenario in one area of life that casts shadows on all other topics, too? When we're talking about our personal photo collections, this is a perfect example of how the lack of clarity guides us directly out of success mindset and deep into a mental torture chamber.  When we are full of grief, regret and stuck there, often we discover more layers of  “worst case” scenarios unfolding. If you've ready any of my blog before you know I'm no stranger [...]

By |2023-03-13T17:25:33+00:00March 13, 2023|connection, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, mindset, online course, personal growth, preservation|
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The REBL(TM) in Me

Ever have a time when you're smiling on the outside, but screaming on the inside? It was like a tropical storm in my head; Wind swirling around, large objects tossed around, smothering any sense of peace and adrenaline was at an all time high. Upset, hurt feelings, raw emotions raked the back of my mind. But they were there to prompt me to practice what I preach. HERE'S HOW IT STARTED Wednesday: A grumpy text message from a friend who wanted to unload on me... I decided to get my family going before reading more. Notifications waiting for me- The tuition check money was withdrawn TWICE rather than once.   I walked away and let the dog out. Headlines of collections for the family who's home had burned down, a sob stuck in my throat as I prepared food for the pets and put the kettle on for tea. Urgent interruptions from family members- not all important The technology that wouldn't cooperate Thursday: The dog [...]

By |2023-02-12T19:33:00+00:00February 12, 2023|capturing moments, finding help, online course, personal growth, Photo Tips, photos, preservation, Sharing Photos, Uncategorized|
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Are your photos making you sick?

Are you sick of the clutter?  Sick of struggling to find them? Of finding junk at every turn? Have you felt doubtful it will ever get better? There are so many reasons why our photos matter to us. A child wants to learn more about their roots. A business mogul wants to reflect on their humble beginnings. A teacher wants to share with their class about their journey. A depressed patient wants to reminisce over a happier time and rediscover the light buried deep in their heart.  A leader wants to celebrate the progress of their organization. A visionary wants to cast a brighter vision, building on lessons from the past. An artist wants to draw inspiration from visiting a master. The list goes on. And no matter who you are, I trust if you’re reading this now, you have something to rediscover, preserve and bring into the present. Moments of love, inspiration, reflection and lessons learned.  It hurts to recall a special time [...]

By |2023-01-22T18:54:00+00:00January 22, 2023|Uncategorized|
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“You make a big difference…”

“You make a big difference in a lot of people’s lives” - Rosie Before I could walk out the door of my client’s house, she embraced me with these loving words. Five days before this, Rosie wasn’t feeling so warm and fuzzy; She was grumpy, fatigued and only focused on her never ending to-do lists. Instead of welcoming the satisfaction of the transformation, Rosie focused on her remaining chores.  She was lacking presence, perturbed and stuck in worry mode. Can you relate to Rosie right now? If so, continue reading. I was once in Rosie’s position too and always focused on the next task, next project, next activity for my girls…. I literally would lie in bed at night revising mental to-do lists, in place of sleep, relaxation and quality time with my family. This led to pure exhaustion in the morning, stumbling through the kitchen after having hit snooze 1308408 times…. And that unfortunately put me into a ball of shame and guilt. [...]

By |2023-01-09T16:33:54+00:00January 9, 2023|Uncategorized|
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Finally- A Breakthrough

It happened when she decided to put her needs first. Then the clouds broke up and the sunlight poured in... Finally. Adversity; conflict, natural disaster, loss, and major changes give us choices. The people who take times like this and create something new and beautiful are the people that inspire me most in life.  Enter Janica.  A single mom of 3 kids, the oldest of 5 siblings. She's not afraid of carrying the kind of heavy loads that many shy away from. Janica LOVES her family above all else, and works 2+ jobs to support them.  They call her their 'ROCK', but she’s still human. Janica’s lost both of her parents in 2014, and she then took on the responsibility of her parents estate, their home, and managed to send her oldest off to college while balancing her own home and two jobs. Strength embodied. Pushing her grief down, to be strong for her family, she decided not to make any immediate decisions regarding the family [...]

By |2022-11-07T00:33:52+00:00November 7, 2022|declutter, Digital Peace, digitizing, finding help, gifts, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, preservation, Sharing Photos|
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My Fire Story

The one time I felt completely hopeless, my house was burning with all of my memories inside…. It was an absolute nightmare smelling something on fire but having NO IDEA where the smoke and flames were coming from. I began checking items like my computer, cords on the baseboards, and that’s when I smelled something. I ran down the hall. Smoke seeped through my child’s bedroom carpeting, but no sign of flames to be seen.. I sprinted down the stairs to find 5-foot flames licking the side of our garage refrigerator.  It was right next to the car with a tank full of gas, the snowblower and a full tank of fuel.  Holy S$&%, I needed to act quickly Shoes, daughter, scooped up the cats into a suitcase … We got out FAST, grabbing my cell phone and then dialed 911.  Then the smoke detectors started wailing … like nails in my ears. Trucks, sirens, helmets, smoke, commotion, adrenaline. I held my daughter on [...]

By |2022-10-31T02:46:35+00:00October 31, 2022|capturing moments, Digital Peace, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, online course, photos, preservation|
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ICYMI: A new lease on life!

Confessions of a Control Freak (COACF-recap) ICYMI - The past few weeks have been full of pain. Just kidding! Quite the opposite.  The “Confessions” or “COACF” series was intended to create honesty, vulnerability and authenticity here in our safe space of photo lovers.  I’m clearing out a lot of emotional and habitual clutter to make room for so many wonderful things to happen. Here’s a recap or remedies we’re relishing: Self-compassion is a shortcut that allows us to welcome positive change Finding trust means letting go of old beliefs that get in the way Trading in perfectionism for joy means letting go of a lot of head clutter And the list of small, measured changes that make the greatest impact over time! Life is precious, memories are priceless and when we share our best memories with those we love, new wonderful stories are created … It’s like the butterfly effect!  Wikipedia says the butterfly effect is when a small subtle change can cause much greater [...]

By |2022-10-10T15:36:32+00:00October 24, 2022|capturing moments, community, Digital Peace, digitizing, gifts, managing photos, online course, personal growth, photos, Sharing Photos|
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Confessions of a Control Freak – Letting in Joy

Do you know why babies laugh? I believe it’s because they have no restrictions, filters, or hesitation to keep them from filtering out a joyful response. When I hear baby laughter, I can't help but smile or often laugh along. They snap me out of my trance called “adulthood” and remind me of my natural joyful state. I LOVE THAT.  But over the years, we build layers of skin formed by our experiences, influencers and systems that were designed to make us productive members of society. Things don't always go the way we like, or we don't take criticism lightly and we go to extremes to avoid all faults and opportunities just to be criticized. And the result for me is: perfectionism starts to take over. Have you ever considered that the more room we make for perfectionism, the less space there is for joy? Time to clean THAT closet out; let’s get a little messy for the sake of letting stuff go that [...]

By |2022-10-17T16:56:57+00:00October 17, 2022|declutter, Digital Peace, finding help, managing photos, online course, personal growth, special event|
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